The veteran British actress Brigit Forsyth has died aged 83, her agent has shared.
Mark Pemberton reported that Forsyth, best known for her roles in a string of British TV comedies, died in her sleep, with her family by her side.
The actress was best known for her role in the 1970s hit comedy Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, where she played disapproving Thelma, wife of Bob, played by Rodney Bewes.
Other credits included TV dramas Playing the Field and Boon. She also appeared in 1980s sitcoms Tom, Dick and Harriet, and Sharon and Elsie, later appearing as a doctor in short-lived ITV soap opera The Practice.
From 2013 to 2019, she was in the BBC reboot of Open All Hours, playing Madge in Still Open All Hours.
Her agent said in a statement that she “had a varied and notable career in stage, screen and radio”, including roles in theatres “from...
Mark Pemberton reported that Forsyth, best known for her roles in a string of British TV comedies, died in her sleep, with her family by her side.
The actress was best known for her role in the 1970s hit comedy Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?, where she played disapproving Thelma, wife of Bob, played by Rodney Bewes.
Other credits included TV dramas Playing the Field and Boon. She also appeared in 1980s sitcoms Tom, Dick and Harriet, and Sharon and Elsie, later appearing as a doctor in short-lived ITV soap opera The Practice.
From 2013 to 2019, she was in the BBC reboot of Open All Hours, playing Madge in Still Open All Hours.
Her agent said in a statement that she “had a varied and notable career in stage, screen and radio”, including roles in theatres “from...
- 12/2/2023
- by Caroline Frost
- Deadline Film + TV
What made Ben Affleck feel sad, and why did people get naked on national television? Test your knowledge of this year’s film and TV with these questions
In a year heavy on sequels and remakes, which one stands as the UK’s top grosser of 2016?
Captain America: Civil War
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Finding Dory
The Jungle Book
A social media war over which film led to Twitter’s permanent suspension of alt-right poster boy Milo Yiannopoulos for racist trolling?
Suicide Squad
Central Intelligence
Moana
Ghostbusters
Dubbed “Sad Affleck” on the internet, a reaction shot from a Ben Affleck interview went viral in 2016. What had the interviewer been asking about at the time?
The reviews of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Reviews of The Accountant
His future as Batman in the DC Comics “extended universe”
His brother Casey’s Oscar buzz for Manchester By the Sea
Which film...
In a year heavy on sequels and remakes, which one stands as the UK’s top grosser of 2016?
Captain America: Civil War
Bridget Jones’s Baby
Finding Dory
The Jungle Book
A social media war over which film led to Twitter’s permanent suspension of alt-right poster boy Milo Yiannopoulos for racist trolling?
Suicide Squad
Central Intelligence
Moana
Ghostbusters
Dubbed “Sad Affleck” on the internet, a reaction shot from a Ben Affleck interview went viral in 2016. What had the interviewer been asking about at the time?
The reviews of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice
Reviews of The Accountant
His future as Batman in the DC Comics “extended universe”
His brother Casey’s Oscar buzz for Manchester By the Sea
Which film...
- 12/18/2016
- by Guy Lodge and Euan Ferguson
- The Guardian - Film News
Richard Lester’s directing career has had a rather tortured epilogue. His last completed film was the dreadful, unloved Return of The Musketeers (1989), during the making of which his long-time friend and troupe-member Roy Kinnear died after a freak accident. To add insult to injury, the Comic-Con crowd has been burning Lester in effigy ever since Richard Donner’s cut of Superman II was released in 2006. Donner had been fired as director of the 1980 sequel half way through filming and Lester was hired to finish the job. Since the release of the Donner cut, expressing a preference for the original, jokier version is rather like suggesting that Cesar Romero was a better Joker than Heath Ledger.
I do wonder sometimes whether the fanboys realise what an important, highly influential and iconoclastic director they’re dismissing when they’re kicking sand into Lester’s face. Martin Scorsese would certainly correct them (sternly,...
I do wonder sometimes whether the fanboys realise what an important, highly influential and iconoclastic director they’re dismissing when they’re kicking sand into Lester’s face. Martin Scorsese would certainly correct them (sternly,...
- 7/8/2014
- by Cai Ross
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
BBC Two is 50 - the British Broadcasting Corporation's second eldest child hits the half-century mark this Sunday (April 20).
But which shows from those five decades on air were given short shrift? Did your favourite drama or comedy not get a fair shake?
BBC Two is 50: Share your memories and thoughts
Other channels have plundered BBC Two's back catalogue with results ranging from the sublime - Sky's Alan Partridge revival - to the disastrous - Gold's Yes, Prime Minister rehash.
But with just two days to go until Two hits 5-0, here's five more shows - from the '60s to the '00s - that deserve another shot.
The Likely Lads (1964-66)
"Oh, what happened to you? Whatever happened to me?" - Yes, its more distinguished follow-up Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? might have graduated to BBC One, but its 1960s predecessor was a BBC Two staple.
But which shows from those five decades on air were given short shrift? Did your favourite drama or comedy not get a fair shake?
BBC Two is 50: Share your memories and thoughts
Other channels have plundered BBC Two's back catalogue with results ranging from the sublime - Sky's Alan Partridge revival - to the disastrous - Gold's Yes, Prime Minister rehash.
But with just two days to go until Two hits 5-0, here's five more shows - from the '60s to the '00s - that deserve another shot.
The Likely Lads (1964-66)
"Oh, what happened to you? Whatever happened to me?" - Yes, its more distinguished follow-up Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? might have graduated to BBC One, but its 1960s predecessor was a BBC Two staple.
- 4/18/2014
- Digital Spy
Ant & Dec, the current Kings of Saturday Night TV, return for a 10th series of Saturday Night Takeaway this weekend. The Geordie duo have come a long way from Byker Grove and Pj and Duncan.
To celebrate the return of Takeaway to Saturday nights, we've looked back at their careers and pulled out 10 classic clips from the Ant & Dec TV archives:
Byker Grove: "He can't see, can he? He can't see, man!"
Where it all began. The Geordie duo were united on this classic Cbbc drama in 1990 and never looked back. Not only did they form an inseparable friendship on the show, it also educated a generation of kids in basic safety procedures for paintballing. Never take your goggles off!
The Pj and Duncan years: 'Let's Get Ready To Rhumble'
After departing Byker Grove, the pair had hoped they'd land a spinoff series for their characters Pj and Duncan,...
To celebrate the return of Takeaway to Saturday nights, we've looked back at their careers and pulled out 10 classic clips from the Ant & Dec TV archives:
Byker Grove: "He can't see, can he? He can't see, man!"
Where it all began. The Geordie duo were united on this classic Cbbc drama in 1990 and never looked back. Not only did they form an inseparable friendship on the show, it also educated a generation of kids in basic safety procedures for paintballing. Never take your goggles off!
The Pj and Duncan years: 'Let's Get Ready To Rhumble'
After departing Byker Grove, the pair had hoped they'd land a spinoff series for their characters Pj and Duncan,...
- 2/19/2013
- Digital Spy
Tube Talk Gold is all about nostalgia, but rarely are the shows we cover in this feature actually *about* nostalgia - that feeling of looking at the past through rose-tinted specs. This week's entry is an exception - the only thing to look forward to was the past in BBC One's classic '70s sitcom Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads?
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? - Originally broadcast from January 9, 1973 – December 24 1974
© Rex Features / Moviestore Collection
Acclaimed writing duo Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are responsible for a number of shows that could easily be granted Tube Talk Gold status - Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet are among their most fondly-remembered works - but their first major UK TV offering was the warm and witty working-class sitcom The Likely Lads.
The sitcom, which ran for three series between December 1964 and July 1966, followed two young men from Newcastle upon Tyne - smart-mouthed,...
Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads? - Originally broadcast from January 9, 1973 – December 24 1974
© Rex Features / Moviestore Collection
Acclaimed writing duo Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais are responsible for a number of shows that could easily be granted Tube Talk Gold status - Porridge, Lovejoy and Auf Wiedersehen, Pet are among their most fondly-remembered works - but their first major UK TV offering was the warm and witty working-class sitcom The Likely Lads.
The sitcom, which ran for three series between December 1964 and July 1966, followed two young men from Newcastle upon Tyne - smart-mouthed,...
- 2/2/2013
- Digital Spy
London, July 12 – Late Beatles member George Harrisson’s wife Olivia Harrison has slammed actor Rodney Bewes, who accused her of turning her Oxfordshire home into a prison camp.
Olivia said that former star of the sitcom The Likely Ladies, Bewes had made her vulnerable to attack after he picked up the issue with the media. You may remember there was a terrifying incident at my home in the year 2000,” the Telegraph quoted Olivia as telling Mandrake at the Cartier Style et Luxe lunch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“There was an attempted murder. That was why the security was there..
Olivia said that former star of the sitcom The Likely Ladies, Bewes had made her vulnerable to attack after he picked up the issue with the media. You may remember there was a terrifying incident at my home in the year 2000,” the Telegraph quoted Olivia as telling Mandrake at the Cartier Style et Luxe lunch at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
“There was an attempted murder. That was why the security was there..
- 7/12/2010
- by News
- RealBollywood.com
George Harrison's widow Olivia has slammed British actor Rodney Bewes for protesting about a security fence her late husband erected after he was attacked in his home. Harrison, who passed away in 2001, had surrounded his property with the wire fencing as a precaution after an intruder broke in and stabbed him in 1999.
Olivia Harrison had applied for planning permission to replace the razor wire fence around her lavish Oxfordshire, England estate, but came up against complaints from neighbors, including Bewes, who branded the security measure "inappropriate". The Likely Lads star claimed his pet cat was injured by the wire.
Despite the opposition, Olivia was granted permission to re-build the eight foot fence to keep up security at the estate last year - but now she's revealed that because of Bewes' protests, she has taken it down. She tells Britain's Sunday Telegraph, "You may remember there was a terrifying incident at my home.
Olivia Harrison had applied for planning permission to replace the razor wire fence around her lavish Oxfordshire, England estate, but came up against complaints from neighbors, including Bewes, who branded the security measure "inappropriate". The Likely Lads star claimed his pet cat was injured by the wire.
Despite the opposition, Olivia was granted permission to re-build the eight foot fence to keep up security at the estate last year - but now she's revealed that because of Bewes' protests, she has taken it down. She tells Britain's Sunday Telegraph, "You may remember there was a terrifying incident at my home.
- 7/12/2010
- by AceShowbiz.com
- Aceshowbiz
Remakes. Who needs ‘em? Seems not a day goes by that some classic film or TV programme is being lined up for a remake. Psycho. Cape Fear. Even the classic Likely Lads episode “No Hiding Place” got a 21st century makeover with…Ant and Dec replacing Rodney Bewes and James Bolam. Underwhelming’s a slight understatement here.
Even in Doctor Who, remakes are produced, albeit with a different name. Take The Christmas Invasion, a thinly-veiled retread of the Slitheen two-parter in the previous season. Both plots concern the apparent first contact with an alien race. Both plots include a sideshow alien (The augmented pig and the Robot Santas). And both boast enough political allegory to make Jeremy Paxman launch into one of his monotonous diatribes. For all that, though, The Christmas Invasion is one of those rare occasions when the remake surpasses the original. It’s tightly plotted. It’s exciting.
Even in Doctor Who, remakes are produced, albeit with a different name. Take The Christmas Invasion, a thinly-veiled retread of the Slitheen two-parter in the previous season. Both plots concern the apparent first contact with an alien race. Both plots include a sideshow alien (The augmented pig and the Robot Santas). And both boast enough political allegory to make Jeremy Paxman launch into one of his monotonous diatribes. For all that, though, The Christmas Invasion is one of those rare occasions when the remake surpasses the original. It’s tightly plotted. It’s exciting.
- 5/10/2010
- by admin@shadowlocked.com (John Bensalhia)
- Shadowlocked
Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have given us a lively Likely Lads throwback, says Peter Bradshaw
Like Clement and Le Frenais or Waterhouse and Hall, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have written a big-hearted movie about working-class lads from the sticks who want to get off with girls and get on with their lives, but feel a gravitational, detumescent pull of loyalty, to each other and to their boring, boring hometown. And they've got a sinking feeling that this sinking feeling is the natural order of things, however big their dreams. Coming down in the world at last, like a punchline to a lugubrious gag, is the way it has to be.
It's a film which is at once dated and backdated: the British kitchen-sink genre this superficially resembles conjures up the monochrome image of the late 1950s and early 60s. But Gervais and Merchant have chosen the 70s as...
Like Clement and Le Frenais or Waterhouse and Hall, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant have written a big-hearted movie about working-class lads from the sticks who want to get off with girls and get on with their lives, but feel a gravitational, detumescent pull of loyalty, to each other and to their boring, boring hometown. And they've got a sinking feeling that this sinking feeling is the natural order of things, however big their dreams. Coming down in the world at last, like a punchline to a lugubrious gag, is the way it has to be.
It's a film which is at once dated and backdated: the British kitchen-sink genre this superficially resembles conjures up the monochrome image of the late 1950s and early 60s. But Gervais and Merchant have chosen the 70s as...
- 4/15/2010
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Actor best known for his role in The Sweeney
For decades a versatile figure in regional theatre, both behind and in front of the footlights, the actor Garfield Morgan, who has died aged 78, achieved national recognition as Frank Haskins in the mould-breaking action series The Sweeney (Thames, 1975-78), having spent years playing police officers on screen. He brought narrow eyes and a habitually rueful expression to the role of Haskins, who was continually beset by ulcers and colds and whose somewhat puritanical nature distanced him from his charges, played by John Thaw and Dennis Waterman.
Born and raised in Birmingham, Morgan was initially apprenticed to a dental mechanic. His professional debut was in July 1953, in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, as part of the Arena Theatre Company, for the city's sixth summer theatre festival. Also in the company was the future director Clifford Williams.
The following month, Morgan was a founder member of the Marlowe Players,...
For decades a versatile figure in regional theatre, both behind and in front of the footlights, the actor Garfield Morgan, who has died aged 78, achieved national recognition as Frank Haskins in the mould-breaking action series The Sweeney (Thames, 1975-78), having spent years playing police officers on screen. He brought narrow eyes and a habitually rueful expression to the role of Haskins, who was continually beset by ulcers and colds and whose somewhat puritanical nature distanced him from his charges, played by John Thaw and Dennis Waterman.
Born and raised in Birmingham, Morgan was initially apprenticed to a dental mechanic. His professional debut was in July 1953, in Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham, as part of the Arena Theatre Company, for the city's sixth summer theatre festival. Also in the company was the future director Clifford Williams.
The following month, Morgan was a founder member of the Marlowe Players,...
- 2/16/2010
- by Gavin Gaughan
- The Guardian - Film News
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